After years of high spending in a booming economy, Carlisle taxpayers began to question whether they can really have it all, particularly their "Rolls Royce" schools that consume 62% of the town budget.

Following the recommendations of the board of selectmen and finance committee (FinCom), the 541 Town Meeting participants on Monday night took a middle road, approving a 5.9% override of Proposition 2-1/2, but voting down by a substantial margin a 7% override. A petition article that would have provided higher funding for Concord-Carlisle Regional High School (CCHS) was also defeated.

The 5.9% override must still be approved in the town election next Tuesday, May 14. Since Carlisle's appropriations for the high school are far below those voted by the Concord Town Meeting, it is likely that Carlisle will need to reconsider the CCHS budget at a special Town Meeting in June.

A much smaller crowd of 228 assembled on Tuesday night to consider the remaining 17 articles. While cost-consciousness was still evident, voters were willing to take a longer range view of town needs and defeated all three articles that proposed lowering the Community Preservation Act (CPA) surtax below the current 2%.